Interview with Dr. Nadine Sterley, Chief Sustainability Officer

Net-zero emissions by 2040 is an ambitious goal. How is GEA going to achieve this?

We are working intensely on this and have devised a broad-based Climate Transition Plan 2040. It includes levers and measures to bring our greenhouse gas emissions to Net Zero at every link in the value chain. 

To achieve our target, we intend to invest a total of around EUR 175 million to decarbonize our sites by 2040. We are moving away from fossil fuels, electrifying our vehicle fleet, expanding our own renewable energy production as well as enhancing the energy efficiency of our production and our buildings. In 2023, we introduced internal CO2 pricing to encourage climate-friendly investments to an even greater extent.

Additionally, we are decarbonizing our supply chain and developing innovative, resource-efficient solutions for our customers. We are involving all our employees, business partners and customers in these fundamental transformations.

At the end of 2023, we significantly increased our mid-term climate targets for 2030. In parallel, we defined a short-term target for 2026 for the first time. These moves will serve to accelerate our progress toward net-zero. Emissions from our own operations, i.e. Scope 1 and 2, are to be reduced by 60 percent by 2026 and 80 percent by 2030. In Scope 3, we now plan to achieve a 27.5 percent reduction by 2030. We are proud that the higher midterm targets and our Net Zero target have already been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Everyone is talking about digital transformation and artificial intelligence. Are these issues also driving sustainability at GEA?

Digital solutions are key drivers for greater sustainability. They help us extend the service life of systems, optimize their operation and make them as resource-efficient as possible. Intelligent technologies help our customers significantly reduce their emissions and their consumption of energy, water and materials. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in particular are making valuable contributions to this.

One example: OptiPartner, our software solution for spray dryers and evaporators, works like a digital autopilot on top of the existing control system. We use advanced algorithms to reduce variations, increase productivity and additionally save up to 14 percent energy. This is a considerable saving in light of the high energy requirements of a spray drying system.

Intellicant is another example. This system equips our decanter centrifuges with smart sensors. Data is collected continuously and analyzed by an AI, enabling us to optimize the performance of the centrifuge. Intellicant is more efficient at separating solids than any manual control, thereby reducing disposal costs and helping to extend the operational life of the systems.

Besides optimizing existing solutions, advancing digital transformation will also enable us to offer disruptive solutions – such as pay-per-use models – going forward. In a nutshell, we are harnessing the power of digital transformation to maximize progress when it comes to sustainability.

Good people are needed everywhere. GEA also wants to be a top employer. Where does the company stand?

GEA has established itself as an attractive employer. Our strong purpose of “Engineering for a better world” and the company’s clear focus on sustainability motivate our teams worldwide. They know that their work, in every function and every region, makes a positive contribution to our customers and to society.

Committed employees are crucial to GEA’s long-term success. That is why we do so much to attract talent as well as provide education and career development opportunities for our employees. We are stepping up our employer branding activities to further strengthen GEA’s positive image on the labor market. We promote diversity, equality and inclusion as well as offering continuous learning and development opportunities.

We cultivate regular dialog within our teams and systematically implement the results of our employee survey in follow-up measures. This lets us foster a culture of open feedback and continuous improvement. Another key aspect of our commitment is to appoint women to more management positions in our company. Our target is to increase the proportion of women in the top three management levels to 21 percent by 2026. We already achieved that target in 2023.

Our goal is to create a working environment in which all employees feel valued and can develop to their full potential. At the same time, external awards prove that we are successful in this regard. In early 2023, we were recognized as a Top Employer in Germany by the Top Employers Institute. Having similarly undergone the validation processes for Belgium, Poland, Portugal and Spain for the first time, we have even been named a Top Employer Europe for 2024.